Ford Transit Taxis Service in PHOTO GALLERY

irst Ford Transit Connect Taxis Enter Service in NYC

Wednesday, September 07, 2011 |

The first Ford Transit Connect people carriers have joined New York City’s taxi fleet. The first part of the order, after the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission’s approval, includes 400 Transit Connect Taxis painted in yellow and featuring the black “NYC Taxi” logo on their front doors.

The Transit Connect Taxi is already in service in other cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Orlando, Tampa and West Haven. Deliveries are approaching 1,000 units in the vehicle’s first year on the market, while the new taxi market in the US averages 6,000 units annually.

“Taxi operators are realizing the Transit Connect is a great vehicle and there’s a good reason they helped us develop it”, says Len Deluca, director of Ford’s Commercial Trucks. “During product development we visited cities across the US speaking with taxi owners, operators, drivers and city officials on the key attributes they wanted in a taxi.”

The standard edition is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine with an average consumption of 22 mpg (10.7 lt/100 km) in the city and 27 mpg (8.7 lt/100 km) on the highway –an improvement of nearly 30% over conventional taxis.

The Transit Connect Taxi can also be converted to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied propane gas (LPG), which lower operating costs as well as fuel consumption and emissions.

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First Ford Transit Connect Taxis Enter Service in NYC

The first Ford Transit Connect people carriers have joined New York City’s taxi fleet. The first part of the order, after the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission’s approval, includes 400 Transit Connect Taxis painted in yellow and featuring the black “NYC Taxi” logo on their front doors. Read more »

Ford Crafts a One-Off Transit SSV Powered by a 3.2-liter Turbo Diesel

Continuing a tradition that dates back to the 1970’s with the creation of the GT40-based Supervan 1, Ford has lifted the wraps off the next evolution of its SportVan bloodline, the one-off Transit SuperSportVan (SSV). Revealed on Tuesday at the Commercial Vehicle Show at Birmingham’s NEC in the UK, the SSV combines the smallest body available in the Transit lineup with the biggest diesel in the range.

Ford’s flagship 3.2-litre inline-five turbo diesel engine was shoehorned into a short wheelbase Transit, for maximum power-to-weight ratio. The 3.2 TDCi unit, normally found in bigger Transit models like the 4.25 tonnes Transit Jumbo, delivers 200-horsepower and a maximum torque of 470Nm (346.7 lb-ft) at 1700-2500 rpm. The inline-five is hooked up to a six-speed gearbox.

In comparison, the standard Transit SportVan is based on the popular 260, short wheelbase model with front wheel drive, a 140HP 2.2-litre TDCi diesel engine and a six-speed transmission.

Aside from the powertrain changes, the Transit SSV features several exterior upgrades such as the Le Mans-style bonnet stripes, twin exhausts, deep-dish white alloy wheels wrapped around low profile 235/45 tires, front and rear lower spoilers, side skirts and extended wheel arches.

Steve Clary, commercial vehicles director, Ford of Britain, had this to say about the SSV: "[The] Transit has a strong reputation for its robustness and practicality. We wanted to add some contemporary fun and also showcase our engineers’ skill and enthusiasm. SuperSportVan demonstrates just how far you can go with a white Transit van by mixing and matching regular technology in a different way."

Ford was quick to point out that the Transit SSV is a one-off study and that is has no plans to present a production version.

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Ford Transit SportVan Limited Edition goes Red

Ford Transit SportVan Limited Edition goes Red

Tuesday, October 12, 2010 | Categories | Diesel, Ford, Ford Transit, New Cars |

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Four years after the presentation of the Transit SportVan and Ford UK continues to release special edition variants of its commercial vehicle. Following the sold-out limited production models finished in Performance Blue with white stripes (500 examples), Sea Grey with silver stripes (80), Panther Black with silver stripes (500), Frozen White with blue stripes (80) and Ink Blue with silver stripes (150), Ford is now launching the Transit SportVan with a Colorado Red paintwork and Le Mans-style white bonnet stripes.

The latest special edition Transit SportVan is based on the 260 short wheelbase model with front wheel drive, and is powered by a 140-horsepower 2.2-litre TDCi diesel engine matched to a six-speed manual transmission.

Aside from the unique paintwork, the SportVan also gets twin exhaust tail pipes, 18-inch graphite color alloy wheels shod in low profile 235/45 tires, front and rear lower spoilers, side skirts and extended wheel arches. Optionally, buyers can add LED cargo lights and LED daytime running lights.

Inside the cab, the driver will find velour trim along with standard air conditioning, six CD-player with remote steering-column-mounted controls, cruise control, power windows, powered and heated mirrors, leather steering wheel, tinted glass, leather gearshift knob and a perimeter alarm.

Also standard are the power deadlocks, rain-sensing wipers, auto headlights, front fog lights, a load area protection kit, ABS, ESP and driver and passenger airbags. Available options include leather seats and a navigation system with a 5-inch color display.

The red SportVan will be produced in a limited number of 100 units and will go on sale in Britain at end of October with prices starting at £22,630.